31 killed, 20 wounded in violence in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, July 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 31 people were killed and 20 others were wounded in the latest violent attacks and conflicts in Iraq, police source said on Monday.

Police patrols on Monday found 14 unidentified bodies, 11 men and three women, in different parts of Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua, noting that most of the bodies had signs of torture and gunshot wounds.

It was not immediately clear when and why they were killed and no group has so far claimed responsibility for the killings.

Two civilians were killed and seven others wounded when two mortar shells fell on houses in Shala area, northwestern Baghdad, the police source added.

Four members of the Iraqi army, including two officers, were killed and seven soldiers were wounded when a number of mortar shells fell at an army checkpoint in Taji area, some 20 km north of Baghdad, the police source said.

In Adhem area, Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, four members of the security forces were killed and six others wounded when a booby-trapped bomb exploded in a house, a local police source said.

Seven militants of the Islamic State, an al-Qaida breakaway group, were killed in clashes with the Iraqi army in Tamem neighborhood in northern Ramadi, some 100 km west of Baghdad, according to a local security source.

Iraq has been witnessing some of the worst violence in years. Terrorism and violence have killed 5,576 civilians in Iraq in the first half of this year, with 11,666 more wounded, according to a recent UN report.